M/V Michael T. Somales, and that's it for 2023

 My final river photo of 2024. The M/V Michael T. Somales upbound at Huntington WV.

I attended the christening of this boat back in 2015 in Elizabethtown, PA. It was a good day.

Have a good new year, everyone.

Morning in Point Pleasant, Part 4 (the end)

 So after the M/V Charles T. Jones disappeared up the Kanawha, I walked around the Point Pleasant riverfront getting pictures of some things. I was about to leave when I saw some empty barges coming out of the Kanawha. I figured I'd wait and get some pictures, and guess who was pushing them.

As I watched the Dan Elder push its barges up the Ohio, I glanced back upriver and saw two tanker barges rounding a bend. My time at Point Pleasant would be extended for one more boat.

It was the M/V Catlettsburg of Marathon Petroleum.

And that wraps it up except for one more picture. I was joined for a few seconds by a curious local.

That's all for now.

Morning in Point Pleasant, Part 3

I was so focused on the M/V Dan Elder that I hadn't noticed the M/V Charles T. Jones had come up behind it.

If you look in the third picture, you can see the M/V Elizabeth Ann. Here are a few pics of it, too.

And there is one more set of boat pics I need to deal with before the account of this morning is done.

Morning in Point Pleasant, Part 2

Here are a few photos of the M/V Dan Elder at Point Pleasant the morning of Dec. 24, 2023, departing and heading up the Kanawha River.

More pictures from the morning to come, if all goes well. Next up would be the M/V Charles T. Jones.

Morning in Point Pleasant, Part 1

 I'll share details later. Let's say for now I seized a few minutes -- and I mean a few, maybe three at most -- to get closeups of the M/V Dan Elder at the riverfront park at Point Pleasant WV this morning.

More later. I planned to spend a few minutes there getting shots of this boat. I ended up spending more than an hour getting shots of at least four boats. These were taken with a phone camera. I had my good camera with me, too, but only one lens, which cut down by versatility, but I did get decent shots.

It was a good morning photographically, but a tiring one.

Early morning

 

The Map Runner heading toward the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge at Kenova WV.

Does the world really need this?

 By "this" I mean another photo of a Crounse boat, in this case the Yvonne Conway, pushing 15 barges of coal?

You bet it does!

Taken a week ago when the boat passed Huntington WV.

M/V Yvonne Conway

One thing about cameras: Each year, manufacturers come out with new and improved models. Each new model is the GREATEST OF ALL TIME and if you don't shell out thousands for it, you're left behind and have proven yourself to be a failure in the pursuit of photography. That's what the gear review guys on YouTube -- the ones who get the good stuff from the camera makers in hopes of separating me from my meager savings account -- are always telling me.

But one truth always comes out: The purpose of a camera is to take a picture, and an older model that doesn't have all the latest technology but gets the job done anyway is all you need.

I have the same thoughts about these older models of Crounse Corp. boats. In low water and high water, they get the basic job done. They push barges from here to there, from where they aren't needed to where they are.

Thus, I have a certain respect for these boats among all the big, new, glittery models.

This is the M/V Yvonne Conway doing something I rarely see anymore. It's pushing 15 barges of coal.

I enjoyed seeing her today, even if she's not the flashiest, most modern boat out there.

As long as we're talking about going old school, here's the same pic only edited as a black-and-white.

Enjoy.

Sunrise, Dec. 7, 2023

 

It was a cold morning down by the river today, but it was a nice one.

Ironton-Russell bridge

 

On a gray morning more suited to black and white river photography than to color.

A windmill in Indiana

 

I've had this one sitting on my hard drive for about a month now, wondering what to do with it. The original didn't look as good on screen as it did in real life, so it just sat there. Tonight, as I couldn't sleep, I decided to play with it -- cropping it and doing stuff I normally don't like doing, such as adjusting the temperature. This is a windmill in Indiana as seen from the state road between Lawerenceburg and Rising Sun. It's beautiful country.

Barge C546

 

I don't know how old Barge C546 is or how much life it has left, but it looks like it's been banged around a bit -- something to be expected considering when it's loaded it carries as much coal as 15 to 17 rail cars.

Lock and Dam centennial, Part 3 of 3

 A few more photos from yesterday. We'll start down by the river and end with some final thoughts.

Here are a couple of the old lock itself, or its remains.

I'm an old coot -- sometimes too nostalgic for my own good. While the people up on the bank ejoyed the food and socializing, I stood alone down by the river, lost in thought. I heard steam and whistles. I saw paddlewheels and Pittman arms. I heard water pouring through the wickets. And I saw people of a hundred years ago working the locks,or families in the houses up the hill.

From time to time I imagine myself back in, say, 1946 or earlier, wondering what my parents and grandparents saw. I think about the changes in the landscape and its people since then. It's an exercise of the imagination, and it's also a recognition that as each generation passes we lose memories of how regular people lived. Some things, places and traditions we have today are worth preserving. Some aren't. I hope the younger generations make wise choices between the two.

Lock and Dam 27 centennial, Part 2 of 3

 Here are a few photos from yesterday's centennial celebration of Lock and Dam 27 on the Ohio River, organized by the Rome Township trustees and HomeTown Love-Rome. There was a cruise-in and live music. There were vendors and food trucks. It was part of an effort to remind the community of the nice park there at Mile 301 and of improvements that could come.

More photos in Part 3.